Royal Ambassador Reviews

Re: Royal Ambassador Reviews

• ladybugmikki member

  

  February 2011 edited December 2011

  I haven't actually been there but my friend recommended RA to me when we were looking for an outdoor ceremony location. She was married at Le Jardin in Woodbridge a few years but attended a wedding at RA last year and said she wished she had booked there since it was so beautiful. We had called but the menu was priced slightly higher than the Ancaster Mill where we ended up booking.
  
  My friends sister had a small wedding there and I coincidentally saw her yesterday. Her husband and her had nothing negative to say and had a great ceremony.
  
  I'm sorry I haven't had any firsthand experiences but since no one else has responded yet, I wanted to reassure you that there have been glowing reviews.
  

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• limmywu

  

  February 2011 edited December 2011

  thanks ladybugmikki! i'm almost determined to find at least one bad review just to see how bad it could possibly be since it seems so nice (:

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• elisamcdougall

  

  February 2011 edited December 2011

  I was a bridesmaid at a wedding in September at RA. It is a geougous place. The only downside really was the price. My friends paid just over 150 a plate!! Other than that it's little things like the bridal suite is upstairs (make sure you can go down the stairs in your shoes). For the desert they mixed up sugar and salt, instead of putting icing sugar on the desert they put salt, when it was noticed by about half the guests they made more. Over all it is an awsome place.

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• Ash1ey224

  

  February 2011 edited December 2011

  I was a bridesmaid in a wedding this past summer that was held at RA. It was also an outdoor wedding and it was gorgeous! The price is a little bit higher but if that's no issue for you then you're all good! I don't really remember what the food was like, mainly because I hardly ate any! I was running around all over the place. But friends etc told me it was good. The only downfall was the wedding coordinator that the hall recommended. My friend hired her just for the day and there were a number of things she messed up on. Good luck!

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• blush64 member

  

  February 2011 edited December 2011

  I went to a wedding there. It is beautiful! The grounds are also wonderful. The food for the tasting was great but on the wedding day it was just good. I enjoyed mine but several guests thought it was just ok. My relative who got married there loved it and was very happy with the choice. The bridal suite was nice and they offered food/drinks while we were in there.

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• MonSherie

  

  July 2011 edited December 2011

  hi  limmywu, wondering if you have decided on royal ambassador? i am also looking for a fall venue with an outdoor feeling and can not decide where.

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• WillowT member

  

  October 2011 edited December 2011

  
  Hello,
  
  any of you planning your weddings, best wishes however,  BEWARE the Royal Ambassador as your venue, particularly if you are thinking about the tent wedding!!!  My son and beautiful daughter (in law) had their wedding their this past weekend, Oct 1st.
  
  The grounds at this venue are absolutely breathtaking but nothing else about the Royal Ambassador is Royal.  Once you've signed the contract you I can assure you be prepared to have no help/assistance of any kind from the staff - the administration staff who will be taking your $ and definitely not the set up staff including the management.  They will not disclose the details that a new bridge and groom should be prepared for before one of the most special days of their life together.  Let me explain below:
  
  1.  Management does not pay attention to details.  The tent will not be prepared ahead of time as required (setting up tables/washing floors/preparing the bar).  They seem to focus on the events going on in the main hall, example, if the bride is planning to have a bridal suite get it into the contract. Two days before the wedding my daughter in las was told  there were two other weddings taking place in the main hall that same day and therefore she would not be getting a bridal suite.  Remember folks, the safes for safekeeping of monetary gifts are kept in the bridal suite.  Basically, because she was having a tent wedding she was not given the courtesy of the bridal suite (yea, bull).  
  
  The day before the wedding I went to RA to discuss a few things in hopes to clarify any misunderstandings.  When I got there after finding out the tables had not been set up (for the bridal party to decorate as required) I went to the main hall to speak with the Admin/Sales person, Stella.  I was told unless I had an appointment she was not available (get real!!).  I then asked if I couldn'to speak to Stella I would need to speak with someone else in management.  So I end up getting Daisy, who for some reason, as soon as she came out to see me was already defensive (hmm, never met this person before so that should have been a clue of service my son and his fiance must have had to deal with).  Explained to her we were there as scheduled to decorate the tent...which was not ready, nor was it even clean and this is now after 1:00 in the afternoon.  She said she was the owner etc and would get someone over there when she could.  Translation - she'd get someone there when they were finished with the main halls.
  
  2. Day of wedding - bar not set up.  Son paid for deluxe bar.  Every type of drink was poured into water glasses (and not even nice ones).  Translation again - don't expect martinis or grandmarniers to be served in the appropriate glasses unless you're prepared to bring your own.  Bartender said he ran out and would get more - how could he have run out when this occurred at the very beginning of the event - really??  He clearly did not have any nor was he prepared to get any.
  
  3.  Food was just o.k.  Warm food served on cold plates.  Servers were not coordinated - you'll get your meat and then be waiting at least 10-15 minutes before you see you vegetables on that same plate.  Make sure you eat quickly because they will be snatching that plate away while your still putting the fork to your mouth ( I am not kidding and you'd think the parents table would be treated a little nicer huh?:)  Also, they squeezed 10 people to a table, because in reality, there really isn't enough room for enough tables to adequately seat 200 guests.  Really, than why was my son told he had to have a minimum of 150 guests in order to have  the tent and then find out afterwards they would be squeezing 10 to a table?
  
  4.  The servers are not in the least bit interested in being courteous or really giving a crap overall. However, the male server was somewhat nicer than the female staff.
  
  5. They really do not know how to set up tables and especially the receiving table if you are doing the receiving line thing.  The receiving table is set up in such a way that soon as you walk in the door it's there - which means everyone else behind you is standing outside.  Not a good thing if it's freezing cold and windy as it unfortunately was on Oct 1st.
  
  6.  The desert table (chocolate fountain and very expensive wedding cake)was set up at the back of the tent by the bar (where it was very dark) and the guests didn't know it was there until the time the servers started taking things away.  Translation - they did not mention to anyone that it was out and ready for the guest to enjoy.
  
  7. Unfortunately it was a freezing cold day and windy day, although sunny *thank God* and we had to bring in what ever heaters we could get our hands on, which was not very many.  RA does not provide any but my son was told they can provide them as long as they were ordered up to the day before.   Not true - day before wedding we were told, too bad, you should have ordererd them last week.  Seriously, if you are in the tent too bad....if it's cold your guests will freeze.....bottom line.  Note:  The servers were standing under our heaters instead of doing there job while our guests were left aside to freeze.
  
  So, in a nutshell, please know that if you are paying the 20K or 30K of your hard earned money for this beautiful day, I'd seriously rethink it.  You may have heard that it was a nice place to hold a wedding but the key word here is "was". 
  
  Apparently there have been staffing and severe management problems at this place for the last year and a half.  I think it has something to do with exploiting staff who, when I was there the day before the wedding were not being spoken to very nicely by Daisy (SHE DID APPEAR SCARY) and I am one whom is not easily scared. 
  
  Unfortunately, my son and daughter in laws wedding day cannot be recreated and their hard earned $ was given to a facility which really does not seem to pride or care about making their clients feel special on the "big day".  The reason I am putting this post up is because I am hoping other couples (and their parents) will not have to endure this nonsense (at a high price).
  
  Royal Ambassador may have once been a "high end" venue to host weddings and special events but after my recent experience, I can confidently say this place is anything but high end.  Rent the closest legion hall, get a great caterer and save yourselves the anxiety.  O.k you don't have to rent the legion hall (I've never been in one myself but it can't be any worse than the crap at RA).  Also, we had lamb and prime rib as the meat choices....Warning....lamb was just o.k. but prime rib was very very "fatty".
  
  All and all my son and dauther in law had a very special day due to the very understanding friends and family that attending the wedding but it still does not erase the embarrasement caused by the management and staff at RA.
  
  Good luck to all and wishing you a wonderful day at a venue that will treat you and your family with respect as you so well deserve.
  
  I would be happy to provide more details if you wish to contact me - provide your email address and I will reply.

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• [Deleted User] member

  

  April 2013

  Congrats to all the new brides to be! Please beware.

  
  

  I contacted the RA,from the pictures online the outdoors looked beautiful. Shortly after we had a date booked to come and visit the site. I had dealt with Stella who seemed very nice. She informed me that she would not be there that day but Melanie would be and would show me around.

  
  

  Saturday came and we were running 15 minutes late. I called Royal Ambassador to speak with Melanie and let her know our delay. The receptionist told me that Melanie would no be in till 12. Our appointment was at 10:30. I doubled checked my emails to make sure I was not mistaken. We arrive, are taken to the sit on a couch while we wait for another lady (don't remember her name) She never came, she was to busy preparing for a baby shower. 

  
  

  Finally someone comes upstairs...she doesn't even introduce herself but tells us that she will go start up her husbands computer and will be right with us. Few minutes later she comes back, still doesn't introduce herself to us. We walk into her husbands office and my Fiance says " It looks as though you guys forgot about our appointment" She then tries to play it off like all the wedding planners share the appointments and had not forgotten about us. I finally ask her who she is  because we are pretty confused. She says Daisy. 

  
  

  So now we are dealing with Daisy, at this point we are not very impressed. She is on the computer trying to get us a quote for our day. Not working. She has no idea what she's doing. So, she tells us we can go view the grounds. 

  The whole time she is complaining about walking in the snow because she's not wearing boots. 

  
  

  We get back inside, Daisy basically ends our appointment right then and there. She says that she will send us the quote. It has been over a week since my appointment and still no quote. 

  I will not be recommending RA to anyone. Terrible experience, but glad they showed their true colours before we had any signed contract. waste of time. 

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